Murder at the Towers
by Madame Bluetooth
Summary: One of the guests at Fawlty Towers is murdered. Luckily, Jane Tennison is on the case. A Prime Suspect and Fawlty Towers crossover.
1. Jane's Arrival

_A/N: This story occurs in the summer of 1991, shortly after season 1 of Prime Suspect and 12 years after the last episode of Fawlty Towers. If you have no idea about the basis of either show, please read Wikipedia before asking any questions. __**The BBC and Granada own most of the characters involved.**_

Jane drove into Torquay around 2:00, slightly ahead of schedule. Strangely, the sign in the front of the hotel said "Flowery Twats" instead of Fawlty Towers. She hoped that the sign wasn't a bad harbinger for the rest of her two week vacation. A tall disgruntled man greeted her at the reception desk. He first claimed that she couldn't find her reservation, but was soon corrected by the screams of a pepperpot. While the owner and his wife argued, Manuel, the manager handed her the keys to Room 12. Vladimir, the bellboy, nearly broke the handle of one of the suitcases. A chair and two pillows were missing. Jane didn't even bother to alert the maid, and she settled into a desperately needed nap.

Not less than five minutes after Jane went upstairs, Basil and Sybil were at it again.:

"Did you see that woman Sybil? She's exactly the type I don't want around here."

"Are you out of your mind Basil?!"

"No I'm not! She's one of those."

"One of those what?"

"One of those lesbians!"

"Shut your bloody mouth! Just because a woman has her hair cut short and wears trousers, it does not mean that she is a lesbian."

"It very well could be. I don't see a ring on her finger."

"Basil don't be silly. A woman can be single, or dating someone."

"Not at her age."

"I'm telling you, she's definitely not a lesbian!"

"We'll see about that. She looks like one to me."

"No you won't see about that! I'm tired of you spying on the guests in the wee hours of the night."

"Whatever you say, sweetie," Basil chirped.

He decided to ignore his wife's demand anyway. The reputation of the hotel was on the line here.

The ding of the bell alerted them to the arrival of their newest guests. Daniel Worthington and William Fuller were in town to close a deal with an antiques dealer.

"Here's the keys for Room 13, Mr. Worthington. And these are for Room 14, Mr. Fuller," Basil said in his most polite tone.

"Forget Room 14. We don't mind sharing Room 13," Fuller said.

"Hotel policy only allows for couples and families to share the rooms," Basil asserted.

"Where is that written?" Worthington inquired.

"Ignore Mr. Fawlty. He's quite mad. Stay in Room 13," Manuel interrupted. "Vlad, take the luggage to 13."

Basil still resented the idea of the two sharing a room, but gave in when he noticed Manuel directing Vladimir to attend to the trunks. He decided to keep an eye on those two. No riffraff pooves were going to destroy the good reputation of the hotel.

Gourmet Night was the theme for the evening. For once, no one made any mistakes. Jane gave compliments to the chef for the crab entrée. The businessmen only ate the salad and spent dinner speaking in hushed tones. Not one complaint found its way to the ears of management. Dessert After an evening of fun and good conversation, the guests retired to their respective rooms.

_A/N: In cause you were wondering, pepperpots are middle aged British housewives. This term was first coined by the members of Monty Python. Pooves is the plural for "poof", a British slang term for homosexual._


	2. A Death Stained Night

Jane thought she was dreaming when she heard the rustling outside her window. The hands on the clock pointed towards 3:15 AM. Soon after, soft footsteps echoed from the room next door. Wailing and the sounds of someone running followed. She decided to investigate.

William Fuller stared at Jane for a long time before he could bring himself to utter the terrible news. "I can't believe Dan is dead," William whispered. "Who would do this to him?" For the first time in many years, Jane felt dread come over her. She came to Torquay to escape investigating murders in London only to find more crime. "Call 999," Jane whispered. "Meanwhile I will find Mr. Fawlty and tell him what happened." William held back the tears as he picked up the phone.

A few minutes later, Basil, Sybil, and Manuel arrived in Room 13. All of them were disturbed by the sight of the blood stained floor and the knife sticking out of Daniel Worthington.

"What the hell happened?," Basil asked Jane and William.

"Someone came in…through the window and… stabbed Dan… to death… while we were sleeping," William said in between periods of sobs.

"Oh my god!," Basil shouted. "The last thing I need on my plate is a murder…"

"Don't worry, Mr. Fawlty," Jane interrupted. "The police are on their way. I am also a detective with London Metropolitan. I will help in anyway I can with the investigation."

"Thank goodness you're here!", Sybil said. "What do you want us to do?"

"I want the hotel quarantined. No guests can leave or come in until we figure out who's involved," Jane ordered.


	3. The 999 Response

Sergeant Edward Morrison was no stranger to Fawlty Towers. Confidence tricksters and pickpockets were the most common complaints. This night, however, was quite different. He had a gut feeling that this case would be the most demanding case he ever dealt with.

He could tell right away where the crime scene was. Guests were standing around speculating about what happened. Basil was pacing back and forth, leaving thick indentations on the carpet. Sybil and the other staff members were whispering about how the murder would affect business. Suddenly, a woman with short blonde hair confronted him.

"Are you in charge of this case?," Jane asked in an abrupt manner. "I am Sergeant Edward Morrison, and yes I am in charge of this investigation." He stared at Jane for a few seconds before asking who she was. "I am Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison of London Metropolitan. I am also a guest at the Towers." Morrison was quite surprised by this development. With a hopeful glint in his eye, he said, "Since you responded before the 999 call, will you continue to assist us during the investigation?" "I would like to.," Jane replied, seeing the hopeful glint and offered a slight smile.

Morrison then ordered all of the guests to return to bed. He repeated Jane's request of quarantine, and followed it up with at least one officer placed at each exit. Jane The staff and Fuller remained, waiting for instructions. Jane broke the long silence with an order. "The rest of you might as well go to bed. Sergeant Morrison and I will collect statements in the morning." The staff walked away from Room 13, hoping that the night's events wouldn't disturb their sleep. Fuller remained in the hallway, too scared to return to the bed he was sleeping in just an hour and a half ago.

Morrison was a little confused. "Why didn't you start the inquiry?" "I like my questions to be answered in a coherent manner," Jane responded. "Besides, I have to brief you about what happened before the call." "Sorry, I forgot about that," he muttered while reaching into his suitcase for the tape recorder. "I am Sergeant Edward Morrison. The time is 4:50 am and Jane Tennison, Detective Chief Inspector of London Metropolitan Police is giving a briefing on the Fawlty Towers Murder," he stated for the machine in the most official voice he could muster.

"It was about 3:15 am. I was sleeping in Room 12. I was jolted by sharp screams, glass breaking, and running coming from Room 13. I climbed out of bed to investigate. As I entered the room, William Fuller walked towards me. He pointed to the body on the floor. He identified the victim as Daniel Worthington. I do not know the nature of the relationship between Fuller and Worthington. Worthington was stabbed with a kitchen knife several times. The window had a hole large enough for someone to slip through. In my mind I connected the running to the suspect trying to escape out of the window that he came in through. The door wasn't tampered with. I told Fuller to call the police. While he was on the phone with the police, I left the room to find Mr. Fawlty to notify him about the murder. Mr. and Mrs. Fawlty and Manuel, the manager, came to Room 13. I not only told them about the incident, I also told them to quarantine the hotel. This is what happened before the police arrived."

"Thank you Ms. Tennison for your testimony. The time is now 5:02 am and I am terminating this interview," Morrison noted for the machine.


	4. Statement Collection

_A/N: It's insanely hard to write interrogations, police interviews, and press conferences without resorting to script format, so bear patience with me. Just as a reminder, the BBC and Granada own most of the characters involved in this story._

"The time is 1:16 pm and William Fuller is being interviewed about the Fawlty Towers Murder," Morrison said. "What was your relationship to Mr. Worthington?"

"Dan was my lover, my best friend. He meant the world to me. I have no idea who would do this to him."

"Mr. Fuller, why did you come to Torquay?," Morrison said.

"We are antiques dealers. We were supposed to appraise the worth of several items from the Havers estate and buy a few items from local antiques stores," Fuller replied.

"Before you came to Torquay, did you receive anything of a suspicious nature?," Morrison said.

"No sir. A few of our customers are impatient, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. We didn't receive any threats," Fuller said.

"Did Mr. Worthington have anybody who he held a grudge against or anyone that he had animosity towards?," Morrison said.

"Dan's father disowned him after he came out, but he died of a heart attack three years ago. I haven't met any of Dan's exes, but I don't think they would have anything to do with this. Dan had very few enemies," Fuller said, wiping away stray tears traveling down his cheeks.

"What were you doing prior to the arrival of Ms. Tennison last night?," Morrison said.

"After dinner, Dan and I came back to Room 13. We fell asleep quickly. I didn't wake up until I heard the window breaking. I thought it was the wind shaking the window, so I rolled onto my side. All of the sudden I heard Dan scream. I looked up and I saw a man dressed all in black holding a steak knife. He dragged Dan out of the bed and stabbed him twice. I jumped out of bed and tried to stop the guy, but he said to me 'Don't say a word or I'll kill you too!' He ran towards the window and climbed down the tree next to the window. I checked Dan to see if he was still breathing, but he wasn't. I couldn't detect a heartbeat..." Dan could not hold back the tears anymore.

"The time is 1:23 pm and I am terminating this interview," Morrison said.

At the same time Morrison was interviewing Fuller, Jane was recording Basil's statements.

"I'll tell you Ms. Tennison, I think that poof Fuller killed Worthington," Basil said with a sneering tone. "I didn't trust either of them the second they appeared at the desk. I should have turned them away. All of this would have never happened if they didn't stay here. It's a good thing you're here, because you can catch the lowlife who did this."

"What were you doing last night before the murder occurred?" Tennison said.

"After Gourmet Night ended around 11, I assisted the staff in cleaning up and then they left. Sybil locked the doors and stowed the cash from the register into the safe. I went to bed around 11:45 because if Sybil gets to the bedroom first, she snores louder than a jet engine, and I can't sleep. I woke up around the time you ran through the halls shouting about a murder," Basil said.

Morrison called a press conference at 6:15 hoping to get on the evening news. Strangely, only 3 other reporters showed up besides the BBC camera crew.

"We are currently examining the evidence left behind at the scene. We have also informed the authorities in the victim's home area We do not have any prime suspects at this point in time. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the vicinity of Fawlty Towers between the hours of midnight and 4 am, call the Torquay Police Deparment at once. Any viable leads will receive a £500 reward." Morrison said.

"Are you receiving any additional help on this difficult case?" the BBC reporter asked.

"DCI Jane Tennison of London Metropolitan is assisting us on this case. She originally came to Torquay on vacation, but she has changed her plans due to recent events. We hope that her work will lead us to a suspect," Morrison said.


End file.
